sore thumb

That's not Chinese in my title just a little happy song bopping through my head as I think about being done with language school. Yesterday was it.  The last day.  No more schedules to figure out every semester.  No more wondering which teacher I'll get.  No more.   Formal study may be over but learning Chinese is not.  This morning for some odd reason I thought about something catching on fire and I thought, 'I don't remember how to say that in Chinese'.  So, after 2 years of study I'd have to call the fire department and say something like, 'Fire is on my room.  I mean, fire is in my house.  Do you understand?'. I took 2 test on Wednesday.  I have to say that I am very proud of my Chinese character recognition in The Book.  There were a few passages that I had to read where I knew every single character and didn't even hesitate while reading.  I don't think I can describe how amazing that feels.  I LOVE reading the passage in John when Jesus a...

This is perfect.  My husband and eldest daughter are asleep in the living room with an F1 race on. My baby is asleep in her room.  I've had time to sort through my entire wardrobe and pull out the stuff I never wear.  I just finished looking up recipes for Yorkshire pudding, roast beef and pie crust.  I've had a cup of tea.  Plus I had a nap earlier. For some reason my mother-in-law's pie crust recipe sometimes works well and sometimes makes me want to throw the messy, crumbly dough out our 8t h floor window.  So, I've decided that I will find the perfect crust.  It's going to take a lot of sacrifice on our part as we eat my attempts. Some Canadian friends ate Yorkshire pudding at their Easter meal.  It was the one dish my friend mentioned when I asked how their lunch went (I knew they were having a BIG group over).  So, I figured it must be pretty great.  I'm going to try it.  From what I've read I think it should be called Yorkshire bread. Yorkshire pud...

*Disclaimer* - The following may not be amazing at all. Lilian can blow her nose.  Hold a tissue to her nose, say "blow" and she blows her nose.  She's 10 months old.  I'm sorry, but that is amazing. Lilian answers questions by shaking her head "yes" or "no".  For example, "Do you want more to drink?"  followed by her head shaking "no". Lilian knows exactly what she is not allowed to touch.  As she approaches the forbidden object she starts shaking her head "no". She waves goodbye and hello. She puts objects to her ear, pretends it's a cell phone and says, "hi." Phil once heard her say, "All done!" Madeleine can tell you the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead.  She knew it after hearing it one time.  She can also tell you about Jesus' ressurection but Lazarus sometimes ends up in there too. She is 3 years old and 5 months. She gets up every morning around 5:30am, goes to the bathroo...